Overview:

Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

A Reflection for Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.” (Lk 11:29)

Find today’s readings here.

“This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign.” That stings a little—O.K., a lot. But maybe Jesus is right. Maybe we, like generations of old, do want God to perform on cue—to show up when and how we decide, in ways that don’t require anything substantial from us.

Today, Jesus points to the Ninevites who repented at Jonah’s preaching, and the Queen of the South who traveled far to hear Solomon’s wisdom. The signs they got weren’t spectacular—just a prophet’s call to change, a teacher’s wisdom. And they responded. But Jesus’ own generation had him standing right in front of them—teaching, healing, calling them to conversion—and still demanded something more dramatic. They didn’t want the sign God was giving. They wanted a sign on their terms.

We too ask God for signs, already imagining what they should look like, what form they should take. Maybe the problem is that signs abound, but we aren’t free enough to recognize the signs of Christ already present in the world.

Pope Leo XIV, in his first official teaching document “Dilexi Te,” points to one sign we may consistently miss: in the poor themselves. 

“The worst discrimination which the poor suffer is the lack of spiritual care… we find it easier to turn a blind eye to the poor,” (No. 114) he writes. That line stopped me cold. How many signs of God’s presence do I miss every day—in those most in need, most vulnerable, most easily overlooked?

“On the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ himself” (No. 9), Pope Leo reminds us. The person experiencing homelessness on the corner. The neighbor struggling in silence. Those isolated by illness or age, those whose voices go unheard, those in conditions of fragility or exclusion. These aren’t just people in need. They are signs of God’s presence.

We’re good at charity—food drives, donations, programs. But do we recognize the poor as bearers of Christ’s presence? Do we pray with them, accompany them spiritually, help them hear Jesus say: “I have loved you”? Or are we looking past the signs God has given, waiting for something more convenient?

The signs God gives demand real, personal engagement. They call me to recognize that the poor need not just my charity but my presence—I need to show up. They also remind me how much I need the poor themselves: They can teach me, make me holier and reveal Christ to me. Pope Leo warns that “remaining in the realm of ideas and theories, while failing to give them expression through frequent and practical acts of charity, will eventually cause even our most cherished hopes and aspirations to weaken and fade away.” (No. 119). Paul reminds the Romans—and us today—that all of us—rich, poor, powerful, forgotten—are “called to belong to Jesus Christ.” The poor are not problems to solve but sisters and brothers in Christ.

Do I notice them? Do I notice Christ? Or am I so busy chasing signs that I fail to notice God in front of me?

Ricardo da Silva, S.J., is an associate editor of America Media and the host of the podcast “Preach.”